


when dressing up

by thompsborn



Series: to build a family [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Flash Thompson Redemption, It's unintentional though, M/M, Nonconsensual kissing, Underage Drinking, and like a hint of angst, dumb drunk idiot kisses people he shouldnt, flash is dumb and didn't realize the punch got spiked okay, fuck norman osborn honsetly, halloween fic, harry is really fun to write, it's very brief and it's talked about and dealt with tho, like the version of harry i want to be in the mcu, part one lmao, this is mostly just fluff and humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:00:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22112221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thompsborn/pseuds/thompsborn
Summary: Getting invited to Flash's Halloween party had been a surprise. Deciding to go had been unexpected. What happens when they get there is completely outside the realm of anything they thought would occur.But, like... what's a party without a little bit of a mess, right?
Relationships: Flash Thompson & Harley Keener, Flash Thompson & Michelle Jones, Flash Thompson & Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & May Parker, Harley Keener & Michelle Jones, Harley Keener & Ned Leeds, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Harry Osborn & Flash Thompson, Harry Osborn & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Michelle Jones, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & May Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: to build a family [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1366759
Comments: 46
Kudos: 542





	when dressing up

**Author's Note:**

> okay, so, i will be explaining some shit in the end notes, but let me just say, this may feel odd or out of place, but it isn't, i swear. just trust me. i know what i'm doing.
> 
> also lol i couldn't think of a name for this fic but i figured since it's a halloween fic and they're all in costume then this will fit well enough

On October 23, 2018, Peter gets a text.

** FROM:  ** Unknown Number [ 4:16 pm ]

_hi! is this peter?_

_like, peter parker?_

_it's harry_

_harry osborn_

_we knew each other back in like third grade ??_

** TO:  ** Unknown Number [ 4:23 pm ]

_holy shit????_

_yes this is peter !! i remember u!! hi!!_

_wait how the hell did u get my number_

** FROM:  ** harry???????? [ 4:25 pm ]

_yeah lol uh, i might have? done some digging to track it down ? sorry if that’s creepy i just had literally no fuckin idea how to find you but like_

_anyway_

_so i ?? this might seem weird and stupid but you were like my only friend in new york and i just moved back to the city and i know literally no one and idk if you would want to catch up or if you even considered us friends since we like never even really talked much or whatever but??_

_yeah idk this is probably dumb and seems creepy sorry_

** TO:  ** harry???????? [ 4:30 pm ]

_no ur good man!!_

_i mean not to embarrass myself but i also tracked down your number like four years ago and tried to call u but then you didn’t seem to remember me when i said my name so i just hung up and tried to act like it never happened pffkfdkj_

_and!!! dude i'm actually so relieved to know you considered us friends because i've always considered you my first friend and i’ve always lowkey regretted not telling you that before you left bc i figured if i had then maybe we could have stayed in touch and would have stayed friends_

_but also yes i would love to catch up man!! welcome back to nyc, by the way!!_

** FROM:  ** harry???????? [ 4:32 pm ]

_WAIT HOLY SHIT YOU WERE THE PERSON THAT CALLED ME ????_

_DUDE I DIDN’T HEAR YOU_

_THE CALL WAS CUTTING OUT SO I DIDN’T HEAR YOU SAY YOUR NAME_

_THAT’S WHY I ASKED WHO_

_NOT BECAUSE I FORGOT YOU_

_OH MY FUCKING GOD YOU THOUGHT I FORGOT YOU???_

** TO:  ** harry!! [ 4:33 pm ]

_WELL_

_I MEAN_

_YEAH I GUESS_

_I DIDN’T KNOW IF YOU EVER EVEN CONSIDERED US FRIENDS SO I THOUGHT THERE WAS NO NEED TO REMEMBER THAT DUMB KID YOU KNEW IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WHEN YOU LITERALLY MOVED TO FUCKING FRANCE OR WHEREVER YOUR FANCY SCHOOL THAT YOU STARTED GOING TO WAS_

_i feel like im yelling so im gonna stop using all caps but pfgkdifgj whoops yeah my bad_

_probably should have waited another minute before hanging up then_

** FROM: ** harry!! [ 4:35 pm ]

_okay so i'm coming back to this later because what the fuck_

_BUT if you’re serious about catching up then!! time and place!! i‘m lonely and have no friends and my dad is an asshole and my god i am so fucking bored_

** TO: ** harry!! [ 4:35 pm ]

_are you gonna be finishing senior year in ny?_

_because if you are i recommend midtown_

_if you’re still as nerdy as me, i mean_

_if not then maybe don’t go to midtown because it’s a STEM school_

_also fuck ur dad_

_and also? i'm actually kind of busy this week, but do you have halloween plans?_

** FROM: ** harry!! [ 4:36 pm ]

_did u miss the part where i said i have no friends, i‘m lonely, and i‘m bored??_

_i have exactly zero plans for the next year other than school_

_also i‘m technically already in college but i'm doing online classes for this school year and then starting somewhere else next year. maybe MIT? not sure yet but i have a year to figure out what i wanna do_

** TO:  ** harry!! [ 4:41 pm ]

_that’s so cool omg_

_also i had to check to make sure it was okay to invite someone but if ur really not busy on halloween then you can come w us!_

_us being my boyfriend and my friends and me_

** FROM:  ** harry!! [ 4:42 pm ]

_depends, what’s the plan?_

_please don’t say trick or treating_

** TO:  ** harry!! [ 4:42 pm ]

_it is not trick or treating_

** FROM:  ** harry!! [ 4:45 pm ]

_then i‘m already in_

“Is this really a good idea?”

Harley lets out a little hum, leaning closer to the mirror as he carefully examines his features, lifting his brows and wiggling them around to see if they look decent enough for his costume. “I mean, it’s not a _bad_ one,” he answers, shrugging a shoulder as he frowns at his reflection. “If we wanna leave, we can just leave whenever. Tony said that he’ll be on standby to pick us up early if we ask, so there’s no harm in trying to go and have fun, right? Plus, MJ even said she wanted to go, so we can just hang out like a bunch of nerds in the corner with her and Ned until curfew. Maybe the other decathlon nerds, too.”

Peter pops his head in through the bathroom doorway to meet Harley’s eyes in the mirror, his nose crinkled in faux offense as his eyes shimmer with fondness. “You do realize you’re also one of the decathlon nerds, right? Maybe don’t say it like it’s such a bad thing.”

“Me? A nerd?” Harley scoffs, but he’s grinning. “That’s a lie, Parker. A dirty, dirty lie.”

With a little humph, Peter enters the bathroom fully, arms crossed over his chest and a little pout pushing out his lower lip. “We’re in costume, asshole. Can’t call me Parker, _or Peter,_ while I’m in costume.”

Confused, Harley turns around, faces Peter with a little frown. “The hell am I supposed to call you, then? You’re literally dressed as a bee. It’s not like you’re a character or anything with a real name.”

“You’ve _literally_ been calling be honey since we started dating,” Peter points out. “And since you’re Bambi, I can test out calling you dear. Like, D-E-A-R, not D-E-E-R. Double meaning, right?”

“I still think you should be Bambi,” Harley huffs, spinning back around to examine his reflection again. Pepper had been kind enough to do both of their makeup, though Harley definitely ended up with more than Peter, on his nose and his eyes and his cheeks, white and light brown and little dark brown dots to make him look like a deer. Peter only has some yellow eyeshadow and black eyeliner to match his black and yellow bee onesie. “You have the eyes for it, y’know? It’s, what—brown doe eyes, or whatever that overused line it? That, you have those, and I got this blue shit that doesn’t match with Bambi at all.”

“Hey, I love your eyes,” Peter says, sounding borderline offended. “They’re, like, literally little oceans, which is so cliché , but it’s true. You have really pretty eyes. Don’t shit on them or else I’ll have to actually physically fight you until you admit they’re pretty. And I’m Spider-Man, so I’ll win, too.”

Scoffing, Harley reaches back and shoves his pointer finger into Peter’s ribs, takes a moment of delight when all Peter does is push his hand away with a giggly scowl and thinks back to the summer where a jab like that would have sent Peter puking up what little he’d been able to stomach that day, and then pushes those (albeit relieving and grateful) thoughts away to matter of factly state, “You wouldn’t win because you don’t like hurting people and wouldn’t fight me in the first place, but believe what you want.”

Peter’s scowl deepens. “You’re a dick and I call dibs on Twix.”

Instantly, Harley splutters. “Twix is my favorite, you asshole!”

“Exactly. Admit your eyes are pretty or you don’t get any.”

“You’re _evil,_ Peter Parker,” Harley says, glaring half heartedly at his boyfriend, a small smile betraying the fact that he’s not actually all that annoyed. “And it’s not like I’m saying my eyes are ugly, I’m just saying that brown eyes fit the whole deer thing better, so you should have been Bambi.”

“But I wanted to be a bee,” Peter states matter of factly. “And you still haven’t said your eyes are pretty.”

Instead of responding to that with words, Harley sort of just lunges over to him, leaps up and trusts that Peter will catch him. As expected, he does, hands instantly shooting out to grab Harley’s hips as he kinda koala’s himself around Peter, arms winding around his neck, legs around his waist and ankles locked against his back, keeping him in place as he grins. Peter lets out a huff, rolling his eyes a bit, but has no time to say anything before Harley is ducking his head and kissing him, absently humming as he slots their mouths together, a content sort of sigh leaving him when Peter moves an arm to wind around Harley’s waist, more than happy to return the kiss rather enthusiastically, until—

“I’m still gonna steal all the Twix if you don’t say it,” Peter murmurs, kind of talking against Harley’s mouth because their lips are still pressed together, because he’s a little shit like that.

Harley pulls back, brows knit together and a frown on his face. “You’re the _worst.”_

With a cheeky little smile on his face, Peter bumps their noses together lightly and sing songs, “It’s four simple words, Keener! C’mon, just say it. It’s really easy, I promise.”

“Should’ve ordered that Satan costume for you instead,” Harley murmurs, half hearted at best, before rolling his eyes, letting out a long, slow sigh, and reluctantly saying, “My eyes are pretty.”

Peter promptly beams at that, looking overjoyed by something so simple and anticlimactic, but he leans forward a bit and sort of peppers kisses across Harley’s face, pairing each one with an overexaggerated _mwah!_ just to enhance the effect. Harley scrunches his nose, wriggles a bit in Peter’s hold as he shakes his head, but then he starts laughing as he catches their reflection, sees how ridiculous they look like in this moment—Peter, with his yellow and black striped onesie, a stinger included and sticking outward from his ass, the eyeshadow and eye liner both striking, especially when paired with his wide, toothy grin, and Harley, with his own super soft onesie, a simple brown with a lighter brown encompassing his torso and stomach, the same light brown as dots on the back of the onesie, the hood pushed down and hiding the cute little ears, the same shade of the darker brown used to sort of contour his face a bit, white dots carefully applied atop the brown, eyeliner used around his eyes and on his nose, leading down and outlining his upper lip to give a simple yet effective deer-like look—and he’s kind of surprised, to be honest, to see that the makeup on his mouth didn’t get fucked up by their kissing, wonders what, exactly, Pepper used, and then focuses back in when Peter happily says, “You can get half the Twix.”

Harley’s eyes narrow down into a glare. “Then you can only get half of the Hershey’s.”

“Oh, that’s cold,” Peter whistles, squinting at Harley for a moment before letting out a sigh and carefully maneuvering his legs down until he’s standing again, though he keeps his arms around Harley’s waist because he just doesn’t want to let him go quite yet. “Fine. You get the Twix, I get the Hershey’s.”

“Do you think there’s even gonna be candy there?” Harley asks.

Peter frowns. “I mean, it’s Halloween. There has to be, right? It’d be dumb if there wasn’t.”

Letting out a little hum, Harley steps back, links one of their hands together and uses the other to yank up the hood of his onesie, deeming the both of them ready. “Only one way to find out.”

Being invited to Flash’s Halloween party had been unexpected, but the two of them deciding to actually go had been even more surprising than the invitation. Peter doesn’t really like parties—they’re usually loud and crowded and they make him think of the party at Liz’s house back in sophomore year, and he’d much rather relax in his room with his friends or do something more chill—and Harley’s just a socially awkward mess who can present himself as cool and cocky but inevitably feels uncomfortable and overwhelmed the longer he’s in that kind of environment, so their original plans for Halloween were to have Ned and MJ over, hopefully convince Tony and Pepper and May to join them, and inhale as much candy and popcorn as possible while watching any movie ranging from Twitches to Annabelle.

But then, a week and a half before the holiday, Flash had approached them in the hall, still with that unsure, borderline nervous energy that he’s had since the start of Senior year, at the same time that he started calling Peter by his actual name and working with Harley to complete their work sheets in the classes they share, and he hadn’t looked either of them in the eye but he had stammered out, “So, my parents are—they’re going out of town again, and I’m having a party, just people from Midtown, whoever people from the decathlon team invites, I guess, so it should be chill, and you guys can come, too, if you want to, but you’re obviously, like, not fucking obligated or whatever, so… yeah.”

And then he’d walked away without waiting for a response, head bowed and hands clenched by his sides, because it seems to be something sort of difficult for him, this whole being semi-friends thing.

At first, the invite didn’t change their plans, but then Ned said something about how Abe was gonna bring Cards Against Humanity, and there’s gonna be a lot of pizza ordered, and MJ said she might wanna go, too, because it sounds like more of a chill get together than an actual party. Honestly, it started to sound more and more appealing the closer the day got, and then they decided that there’s no harm in going, because they still have a midnight curfew and Tony will happily pick them up and they can just leave early if they end up not having any fun. Plus, a Halloween party seems like a good place to catch up with Harry Osborn. No harm in giving it a shot, right?

Well, this might be a mistake.

“That looks like a lot of people,” Peter says, blinking at the abundance of bodies they can see through the windows of the house. “Like, _a lot_ of people. Like, _too many_ people.”

May—who had been the one to volunteer to drop them off—gazes through the windshield with a little frown tugging at her lips. There’s a contemplative look in her eyes, like she’s weighing the pros and cons of just taking them back to the tower, but then she sighs a bit, smiles, and says, “It’s more people than anticipated, but if you still want to go, you should. Or we can just go home. It’s up to you two.”

Peter looks over his shoulder to meet Harley’s eyes, and Harley, from his spot in the back seat, offers him a small little shrug. Peter purses his lips. “I mean… we’re already here…”

“And we can still leave early if we want to,” Harley points out. “And you were really looking forward to seeing Harry again, so having to cancel on him would probably suck, especially since I really wanna meet the guy. Plus, we know Ned and MJ are here somewhere, so we can probably find a loner corner.”

A short pause, and then Peter nods. “I think we should give it a shot.”

“Yeah,” Harley grins. “Me too.”

“Before you go,” May says, facing the two of them with a fond smile. “What are the rules?”

Peter rolls his eyes, but Harley sticks his head over the center console to recite, “Be safe. No hard drugs. If we drink or get high, don’t overdo it, and don’t try to lie about it. Use protection if necessary. Drink water. Call someone if we want to leave early, and be outside by eleven thirty to get picked up by Tony.”

Quirking a brow, May says, “And…?”

“And have fun,” Peter finishes with a huffed out laugh. “You guys remember who we are, right? Like, we’re nerds. We’re lame. We have no interest in getting drunk or high or anything.”

May shrugs. “Maybe, but maybe you’ll end up wanting to, in which case it’s important to make sure you know you don’t have to hide it and know how to and have the means to be safe about it. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so suck it up and let us be slightly overprotective parents, okay?”

With a little giggle, Peter shakes his head, reaching for the door handle as he says, “Yeah, love you, too, May,” before climbing out of the car.

“Be safe!” May calls out while Harley follows Peter’s lead, instantly reaching over to grab his hand.

“Always,” Harley grins, at the same time that Peter murmurs, “I’ll fuckin’ try, I guess.”

With that, May drives away, and the party begins.

** FROM: ** harry!! [ 8:14 pm ]

_so did u like somehow become a party animal while i was gone_

_like i know i was gone for a long time and we were like nine when we knew each other but i never in my entire life would have assumed that the nerdy little kid i was friends with would go to parties like this_

** TO: ** harry!! [ 8:15 pm ]

_i was told this was gonna be a small, chill party with just the people from the decathlon team, so…_

_where are you? harley and i just got here and he said he wants to meet you_

_also may told me to say hi and thank you for being my only friend in elementary school_

** FROM: ** harry!! [ 8:15 pm ]

_that’s so sweet omg i love ur aunt and i need to meet her asap_

_also i’m by a downstairs bathroom but this place is big enough it probably has like four bathrooms so idk how helpful that is_

_i’m wearing a very eye catching costume though so hopefully it’ll be easy to see me_

** TO: ** harry!! [ 8:16 pm ]

_what’s your costume??_

_i’m a bee and harley’s bambi but we were lazy so our costumes are just onesies_

** FROM: ** harry!! [ 8:17 pm ]

_i’m extra and my dad thinks boys shouldn’t be feminine so i might have_

_i MIGHT have_

_key word MIGHT_

_have found the most expensive dress and heels i could have and hired someone to do my makeup_

_and let me tell u_

_i am ROCKING it_

_and i also got my legs waxed for the full effect and my skin is very smooth i feel like a seal_

_but like in a good way_

_straight boys keep flirting with me and then awkwardly walking away when i open my mouth and Deep Male Voice comes out those cowards i hate hets_

** TO: ** harry!! [ 8:19 pm ]

_dude you are_

_iconic_

_holy shit_

_we’re looking for our friends rn but once we have them we’ll come find u ?_

** FROM: ** harry!! [ 8:19 pm ]

_i’ll just stand here and look pretty it’s fine_

They find MJ and Ned after about fifteen minutes of weaving between people and ducking through the crowd of mostly unfamiliar faces. Ned is dressed as Thor—which he seems unreasonably proud of, clutching onto his replica of Thor’s hammer with a cheesy grin and using it to wave when he sees Peter and Harley approaching them—and MJ just has fairly simple but incredibly well detailed skeleton makeup on, paired with black jeans, a black sweatshirt, and black shoes that all make the white and black makeup stand out even more. Harley barks out a laugh once they’re a few feet away, reaches out to tug lightly on the blond wig placed on Ned’s head and asks, “Where the hell did you get this?”

“My sister dressed up as Hannah Montana a few years ago,” Ned chirps back happily, knocking away Harley’s hand with the fake hammer. “I just had to cut it a bit and it worked like a charm.”

“Quick question,” Peter says, having to raise his voice a bit to hear himself, though he can’t tell if it’s because the music is actually loud or if it just seems so loud because of his enhanced hearing. “What the hell happened to this being a chill party? I haven’t seen a single person from Midtown so far.”

MJ shrugs, takes a sip from the Sprite in her hands, and tells him, “I saw Flash earlier, and he said that some of the other seniors apparently invited some of their friends that graduated from Midtown last year, and those people apparently invited their new college friends, and now it’s completely out of control. Honestly, I feel kind of bad for the idiot. This is gonna be hell to clean up tomorrow.”

A sympathetic frown tugs at Peter’s lips as he looks around. Just from where they’re standing, in a corner by the entryway that connects the spacious living room and the kitchen, he can see a handful of abandoned trash and spilled drinks that are probably going to stain. “Yikes,” is all he says.

“Hey, have you found Harry yet?” Ned asks, turning to Peter with an excited glint in his eyes. “I know Oscorp is, like, evil as shit, but I have so many questions. After you guys catch up, obviously.”

Peter snickers, rolls his eyes a bit—knowing Ned, he’s probably going to try and subtly ask about the radioactive spider that made Spider-Man possible, but he’s gotten a lot better at actually being subtle, so Peter isn’t all too worried about it. It helps that there’s already been rumors going around the past two years that Spidey could be a product of human experimentation, either from Oscorp or from Stark Industries, though Pepper had been quick and efficient in shutting that shit down, so the rumors are only really about Oscorp, now. “I haven’t yet, no,” he answers Ned. “He said he was over by a downstairs bathroom, though, and I said we’d look for him after we found you guys.”

“Oh, perfect!” Ned exclaims. “I really have to pee, so let’s go!”

Before Peter can say anything, Ned grabs him by the wrist and starts to tug him away. Looking over his shoulder, he meets eyes with Harley, who looks purely amused and calls out, “We’ll wait here!”

Here—Peter looks, remembers where they are, and tries to make sure he won’t forget it before nodding to Harley in agreement and turning his head back around to keep track of where they’re going. It’s not like Flash’s house is a mansion, or anything, but it is a fairly big suburban type of family home, and with this many people filling the space, getting lost isn’t completely out of the question.

They find the bathroom fairly quickly by sticking by the walls, but when they reach it, Peter sees no sign of an expensive dress and heels. Ned ducks into the bathroom as soon as they reach it, letting out a grateful whoop for it being empty, and Peter just leans against the wall by the locked door and goes to fish his phone out of the surprisingly deep pocket that his onesie has in order to text Harry and see where he is, but before he can, he hears someone say his name and whips his head up excitedly, only to deflate a little to find Flash stumbling over him instead of his childhood friend and—embarrassingly—first crush.

(Which Harley thinks is absolutely hilarious, has spent the past week poking Peter and giggling and jokingly asking if he should pull the jealous, protective boyfriend act. Though, all things considered, Peter’s definitely glad to have a boyfriend that doesn’t get all huffy at the idea of meeting his schoolyard elementary school crush. Instead, Harley seems even more excited because of it, apparently already convinced that him and Harry are going to become fast friends. Peter doesn’t doubt it.)

“Hey, Flash,” Peter says, tries not to sigh and offers a greeting smile. Flash trips, slams a hand against the wall in order to avoid falling, and grins at Peter with flushed cheeks. Peter frowns. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah!” Flash exclaims, sounding on top of the clouds and a giggly sort of giddy. “I mean, I’m definitely, um—I’m not sober, which was not—I wasn’t planning on that, but I think, someone, one of the college kids, probably, um—I think they spiked the punch that I made, and I drank, like—I drank a few cups, and now I’m this, and it’s, I mean, oops? But I feel great! And I’m really glad you came!”

Peter looks at the locked bathroom door, silently urges Ned to hurry up because he is definitely not equipped to deal with a drunk Eugene Thompson—not now, probably not ever—but Ned doesn’t emerge. With a deep breath, Peter smiles again and replies, “Thanks for inviting us, Flash.”

For a second, Flash looks confused, mouths _us_ to himself before brightening. “Oh! Harley! He came?”

“Yeah, he’s here,” Peter nods, flips his phone over and over in his hands absentmindedly. “Him and MJ are over by the kitchen. Ned’s in the bathroom.”

Flash leans against the wall with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Wow. _Wow._ I didn’t think you’d actually wanna come. I mean, I’m—I’m a dick. You _hate_ me. Why’d you wanna come to my party?”

It doesn’t seem like he’s actually looking for an answer, but there’s some kind of genuine distress in Flash’s eyes that leads Peter to, somewhat gently, tell him, “I don’t hate you. Harley doesn’t, either.”

The way Flash blinks at him is, frankly, kind of adorable. “You don’t hate me?”

“Of course not,” Peter says. “If I hated you, I would have done something about your name calling and tripping me and shit, but I… I mean, I don’t know _why_ you started doing it, I thought we got along pretty well when we met, but I always had a feeling there was more to it, you know? And you’ve gotten a lot… nicer, I guess. Especially since we started senior year. So, I don’t hate you. I thought that was obvious.”

“I…” Flash trails off, shakes his head a bit and keeps looking at Peter with this wide eyed vulnerability that feels completely out of place on him. Peter can’t really place how he feels about it, really—on one hand, this is probably a long overdue kind of conversation, but Flash is also well past tipsy and Peter briefly wonders if he’ll even remember this tomorrow. He’s debating what to do next, if he should maybe try to get Flash some water and sober him up or something, but then Flash is grabbing his shoulders and looking at Peter with some kind of determination and he states, “I’m a jealous asshole,” before he leans in with absolutely zero coordination and messily presses his lips to Peter’s, kind of misses and hits the corner of his mouth instead, and Peter doesn’t even have time to blink before Flash pulls away again.

Peter thinks his brain is rebooting. “Um. What?”

“You should hate me,” Flash tells him. “Like, you—you really should. But you don’t. And I’m an asshole. I’m the worst person and I need to—” he lets go of Peter, that drunken determination still on his face, “—I need to do something.” Then, without another word, he disappears into the crowd.

“What?” Peter says again, though Flash has already vanished from his sight. He shakes his head a bit, tries to make sense of the past five minutes, and finds that he can’t. Absolutely none of what just happened makes a single ounce of sense, and the more he thinks about it, the more confused he feels and the more unsure of what to do about it he is. Other than tell Harley. Because he needs to tell Harley.

He gets suddenly jolted out of his thoughts and into the present when a voice speaks up from his left and says, “I thought you said your boyfriend was dressed as Bambi? That didn’t look like a Bambi onesie.”

Peter looks over, and there, no longer the nine year old scrawny kid that Peter remembers, is Harry Osborn, dressed up in an offensively gorgeous dress, the dark black complimenting the striking red heels that appear to be at least four inches tall. Underneath the sharpened jawline and the high cheekbones and the makeup, Peter can sort of recognize the kid that he went to school with, which is a little disorienting, though he can tell by the way Harry is looking at him that the disorientation is a two way street, both of them taking in the drastic differences from third grade to now. It takes a minute for Peter to get past that shock and process Harry’s words, and then he says, “Yeah, that wasn’t—that wasn’t my boyfriend.”

Harry blinks, false lashes fluttering. “What?”

“That wasn’t—” Peter stops, puts his face in his hands. “Oh my god, I’m gonna freak out. I’m gonna _lose it._ I am exactly ten seconds away from fucking _flipping shit,_ what the _fuck just happened, oh my god—”_

“So, the guy you were just kissing,” Harry says, looking more curious than anything else as he gazes after where Flash had been a moment before, some sort of intrigued glimmer in his eyes. “The guy who just had his mouth on your mouth. That guy. That wasn’t your boyfriend?”

Peter helplessly shakes his head.

Harry makes a little _huh_ noise. “Well. That’s interesting.”

“I need to—” Peter waves a hand, gestures towards the bathroom door and says, “Ned is in there, he should be out in a second and he knows where we were, so just—just wait here, I need to deal with whatever the fuck just happened because I am _so_ confused and I’m about to start screaming.”

“Catching up is going great so far,” Harry quips, clearly amused. Peter glares at him, and he holds up his hands in surrender, black nail polish glimmering, not looking all that apologetic when he says, “Sorry.” Peter just lets out an exasperated sigh, thinks that, yeah, he’s definitely going to fit right in with the rest of his sarcastic asshole friends, and then hurries away, mind still struggling to process what happened.

As soon as Peter sees Harley, he says, “Flash kissed me.”

The problem is, Harley says it, too. At the exact same time. Looking just as confused as Peter feels, even more so when he processes the fact that they both said the same thing. He scrunches his nose. “What?”

“He kissed me,” Peter tells him, shaking his head. “He kissed you?”

“Yeah, like, two minutes ago,” Harley says, brows twitching together, then quirking up, then twitching together again. “He said something about how he’s an asshole. MJ took him to get some water.”

Peter parts his lips, but quickly realizes he has no idea what to say, because that… that really doesn’t make sense. That’s bizarre, is what it is. Peter was bit by a radioactive spider, is a teenage superhero, lives with Iron Man, has fought Captain America, know various heroes that have various confusing abilities, but this—Flash, kissing him, and then kissing his boyfriend—is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to him, rendering him completely and utterly speechless.

And then Harley laughs.

It’s a bark of a laugh, not intentional, but it breaks the tension, and suddenly, they’re leaning against each other and losing it, wheezing out cackles and giggles and half assed attempts at words because neither of them know what the hell just happened but god, is it funny. Funny in the sense that is makes no sense.

“What did I miss?” Ned asks, approaching the two of them with some kind of wariness in his eyes. Peter is wiping away tears and Harley is leaning most of his weight against Peter, catching his breath.

“Flash kissed us,” Peter says, and that sets them off again, laughing so hard that it makes their stomachs ache, having to lean against the wall and then sliding down it because it’s hard to keep standing, and then they’re just a tangled heap of limbs and laughter on the floor, red in the face and clutching their guts.

Ned scrunches his nose. “Flash… I’m sorry, what?”

Harry, from besides Ned, simply smiles and holds out a hand. “So, this is the boyfriend, then?”

From the floor, Harley lifts up a hand to shake Harry’s professionally, and Peter, leaning his head back against the wall, just grins. Ned looks lost. “Did you say Flash kissed you? Like, as in… both of you?”

“Oh, yeah,” Harley giggles, still shaking Harry’s hand. “He’s definitely drunk. Called himself an asshole and planted one on me without any warning. Then MJ called him a dumbass and dragged him to the kitchen to chug a few glasses of water and hopefully sober up a little bit.”

“Okay, but—but _why_ did he kiss you?”

Peter shrugs. “He told me that he’s a jealous asshole before kissing me and then told me I should hate him and that he had something to do. Which, apparently, was going to kiss Harley.”

Ned considers this, looking thoughtful. “Huh. Well, is he a good kisser?”

“Kinda felt like kissing a fish,” Harley answers instantly. “Pretty sure he’s too drunk to do it right.”

That sends Peter into another fit of laughter, slumping into Harley as he quietly wheezes. Harley finally stops shaking Harry’s hand to grab Peter’s shoulder and keep him from falling over. Shaking his head, Harry turns to Ned and asks, “Is this, like… a regular kind of occurrence in this group.”

“Not really, but also, kind of?” Ned shrugs. “Kissing usually isn’t a part of it, but it’s still chaos.”

“Oh, fun. Glad to be here, then.”

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:34 pm ]

_how do u politely tell someone they’re a horrible kisser_

** FROM: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:34 pm ]

_What?_

_Okay, multiple parts to my response_

_One, why the hell are you asking me this_

_Two, you’ve been dating Harley for, what, five months? Almost six, I think? Why are you only just now dropping that kind of bomb on him?_

_Three, what the fuck?_

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:36 pm ]

_i’m not talking about harley_

_and who else would i ask for advice about this???? other than pepper, but she said she was going to bed early after she did our makeup bc she’s flying out tomorrow_

_may would just laugh at me_

_you will also laugh at me but then offer actual advice which is what i need right now_

** FROM: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:36 pm ]

_What do you mean, you’re not talking about Harley?_

_Someone who isn’t Harley kissed you?_

_Was it consensual? Does Harley know? Do I need to come pick you two up early?_

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:36 pm ]

_jesus christ mr stark_

_it wasn’t really consensual, no, but its ok. he also kissed harley so both of us are aware of it happening and neither of us wanted it to happen so we’re not like upset or accusing each other of cheating, and we’re dealing with it now that flash has sobered up. i just know that flash has an insecure ego and he will eventually ask if he’s a good kisser and idk if it’s bc he’s drunk or what but it was v unpleasant and i don’t want to hurt his feelings so please give me some advice here_

** FROM: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:37 pm ]

_I am so confused right now, but we’ll talk about it on the drive home_

_Just tell him you weren’t expecting it and didn’t have time to process it so you don’t really know_

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:37 pm ]

_mr stark ur my savior and i love u sm thank u_

** FROM: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:38 pm ]

_Your typing gives me hives, Pete._

_Have fun. I’ll be there at 11:30 to pick you and the other nerds up. Be safe, all of you._

With approximately ten water bottles and an abundance of snacks from the kitchen, they migrate away from the party and up the stairs, locking themselves in Flash’s room—which is, thankfully, vacant of any other party goers. Flash is on his third bottle of water now, and there’s clearly still alcohol in his system, but the situation and the water has helped him become more grounded and aware, and, after he sits heavily on the floor and leans against the wall, takes a few long sips of his water, he says, “Sorry.”

MJ rolls another water bottle over to Flash for when his current one is empty, then crosses her arms over her chest and cocks her head to the side, scanning over the room with a scrutinizing look in her eyes. Ned is adjusting his blond wig but is glancing around at everyone else with extreme intrigue, as if trying to predict what’s going to happen next, not wanting to miss a moment. Harry looks like he’s not sure if he should even be here or not, but just sits at Flash’s desk and kicks off his heels to give his feet a rest, arms crossed over his chest as he watches the way that Harley and Peter share an odd sort of look.

“I mean,” Peter says, a bit slow. “I can’t really say that there’s nothing to be sorry for, but I also don’t want you to feel, like, super bad about this? Because we’re not mad or anything. Just confused.”

“Really confused,” Harley agrees. “Plus, you’re not sober, so I don’t think you were thinking straight.”

Harry snickers. “He kissed two dudes. He definitely wasn’t thinking straight.”

The snort that Harley lets out is unintentional and impossible to smother. Flash grimaces, squints at Harry in some kind of confusion and asks, “Who the hell are you?” Then, apparently noticing Harry’s outfit, blinks once with wider eyes and adds, “And why did you go all out for a shitty house party? Holy shit.”

“I’m Harry, and I wore this specifically because I know my dad would hate it.”

Flash blinks again, and then, suddenly, blanches. “Wait, I recognize—Harry Osborn? Like, Oscorp?”

Harry waves a hand through the air. “That’s Norman’s company. I’m just his unfortunate offspring.”

“Parker,” Flash says slowly, clearly shocked. “What the hell is Harry Osborn doing at my party?”

With a sigh, Peter shrugs a bit, shovels a handful of barbeque flavored chips into his mouth and speak around the good to answer, “We were friends when we were kids. He just moved back to the city.”

“So you invited him… to my party…?”

“Well, yeah,” Peter says, as if it’s obvious. “I was busy as hell all week, so this seemed like the best way to catch up and also introduce him to my friends and my boyfriend. And then he saw you kiss me and assumed _you_ were my boyfriend, and now he probably regrets every texting me.”

Harry grins, shakes his head. “Oh, definitely not. If being friends with you guys means interesting shit like this happening, then I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

“Okay, I don’t wanna, like, interrupt, or whatever, but—” Ned pauses, points to Flash with a furrowed brow and confusion written across his features. “Why did you kiss them? I’m, like, trying really hard to be patient and let the conversation run it’s course, but I’m dying to know, so, like, hurry, please.”

“I would also like to know,” Harley says, raising his hand. “Especially since my lips were involved.”

Peter snorts, but says nothing, instead levels Flash with a confused, expectant look, and, if someone were to walk it, it would be quite the sight—six teens, all in their various costumes (Flash, Peter realizes, is dressed as Tony, with the smudged remains of a drawn on goatee barely visible, and that realization almost sends him into another laughing fit, but he’s able to hold his composure for the sake of not disrupting the conversation that they really need to have). Most of them are sitting on the floor, except for Harry, still lounging in the desk chair, lighting kicking at the floor to idly spin around, and MJ, who’s perched on the edge of Flash’s bed and sipping from a water bottle with that same knowing, amused glint in her eyes that always seems to show that she knows more than everyone else in the room. Ned is trying to spin his plastic replica of Thor’s hammer like a spin top and is failing spectacularly, partially because it simply isn’t shaped or weighted properly for that, but also because he isn’t even looking at it, his eyes rapidly flickering from Flash to Peter to Harley and back again, waiting with bated breath. Flash is a little bit of a mess where he leans against the wall, clutching his bottle of water like a life line and avoiding everyone’s eyes, and Harley and Peter, sitting in between Flash and the desk, are looking at him and waiting for an explanation for whatever the hell happened earlier.

It takes a few long moments for Flash to collect his wits and piece together a response, and when he speaks, it’s slow and unsure and terrified, and it’s—it’s different, it’s odd, seeing and hearing the vulnerable way his hands tremble and his voice shakes. They know, all of them (not counting Harry, who doesn’t know Flash), that there’s a lot more than that sarcastic and steeled over wall that Flash puts up front. Peter’s known since Flash went from being his almost-friend in their freshman year biology class to shoving him in the halls with something painful in his eyes. Harley saw it when Mandy died and Peter missed a week of school and Flash had shown his concern in his own way. Ned and MJ are both observant, in their own ways, and they see more than most, understand more than most, often murmur to one another about the things they notice and what it means.

But there’s a difference between knowing about that hidden depth, and witnessing as those cracks in the walls he has up splinter and crumble right in front of their eyes.

“It’s stupid,” Flash murmurs, takes another drink of his water for no reason other than to postpone talking for another few seconds. He sets the water aside after, wrings his hands together and glares down at them as he says, “It’s just, like—it’s fucking dumb, okay? But I—I know I’ve been an ass to you—” his eyes flicker up to Peter and then immediately look away, “—for fucking _years,_ and it’s—it’s because I’m an emotionally constipated piece of shit and nothing I do has ever been enough to make my parents happy with me and there you fucking were, getting all the answers right and always getting A’s and looking like it was _easy_ while I was studying my ass off and getting a B average and—and it’s fucking _stupid,_ but no one ever taught me how to—how to handle that kind of—that kind of feeling, you know? Being jealous, or whatever, and then I started taking it out on you, and I didn’t know how to stop and apologize, so I just didn’t and—and it just became the normal, and then you—” he looks at Harley swallows roughly and averts his gaze to the ceiling, “—moved to New York and started going to Midtown and you two were, like, attached at the hip, right from the start, and I—I realized that I could have—I don’t know. I’m just, I’m an idiot, a jealous idiot who doesn’t know how to handle it, and I—I’m sorry. I’m _sorry._ Okay?”

Even with that outburst, it’s not hard to tell that there’s plenty more that Flash is keeping, that he’s biting back and pushing down and none of them know how to approach knowing that, all of them wanting to know more but none of them wanting to pry. Harley looks to Peter with something sort of strained in his eyes and Peter just shakes his head, speechless and not sure how to continue.

Surprisingly, it’s Harry to speaks up, saying, “Everyone’s been calling you Flash, so I’m just gonna—I mean, that’s your name, right?” Flash looks at him, clearly just as confused as everyone else as to why this virtual stranger is the one responding, but offers a short, curt nod. Harry nods, too, purses his lips in some kind of thought for a short moment before letting out a slow breath and telling him, “Well, I’m not… I’m not really part of this, and I get that, but, I get where you’re coming from. The whole never being good enough for your parents thing? That’s my life, man, so I understand, and I know what it’s like to kind of take that resentment and that… that hurt, you know? Because it hurts like a bitch, and I know what it’s like to take all that and use it for something that isn’t all that good. For me, it was dumb things, sneaking out and getting in trouble and rebelling in any way that would make it seem like I actually earned my dad being disappointed in me. Which sounds stupid, but it’s—it’s what I did, pretty much starting the day my dad shipped me off to boarding school after my mom died. And that’s… not really relevant to any of this, but I just—I get it, is the point. And they already said they aren’t mad at you, and if I remember Peter at all from when we were kids, he has, like, the biggest fucking heart ever, always stood up to bullies for me even though I was older, taller, _and_ stronger than him, so I really doubt this is something he’ll hold against you.” There’s a short lapse, and then Harry shrugs. “These other assholes, I don’t know yet, so I can’t say shit about them, but, I mean, the sentiment still counts, right?”

This shocks some kind of laugh out of Flash, a bit strangled and delirious and incredulous as he shakes his head. “I don’t know what the hell is happening right now,” he states. “I’m drunk, didn’t even want to be, and I fucking—I kissed two people who I know are dating each other, fucking spilled my guts out to people who should hate me, and now Harry Osborn is trying to comfort me. What the fuck?”

“Dude, life is fucking wild,” Harley says, a kind of _what can you do_ look on his face. “Just roll with it.”

“Only rolling I’m doing is rolling into bed,” Flash replies, pushing himself to his feet and crossing the room in order to promptly flop over onto his mattress, somehow managing to avoid jostling MJ where she’s sitting too much. Voice muffled by the pillow, he tells them, “I’m never acknowledging that any of this happened after tonight, just so you know. Now get the hell out of my house.”

MJ rolls her eyes and gets to her feet. “Drink more water, asshole.”

Flash turns his head and glares up at her. “Why the hell should I, Jones?”

“Because we’re your friends and we told you to,” Ned quips, also standing up along with Harley and Peter, who both nod along like it’s the most sound logic in the world. Flash’s glare almost instantly vanishes, replaced with wide eyes of blatant surprise, looking some kind of speechless. Ned just grins, clearly pleased by that reaction, and tells him, “Happy Halloween, man.”

“You definitely made it an interesting one,” Peter muses, snickering.

Harley nudges their shoulders together. “Just realized that I haven’t seen any candy yet.”

Peter’s face falls instantly. “Oh, that’s bullshit. I changed my mind. I hate you and your party sucks.”

With a huff of a laugh, Flash tells them, “I stashed it all in my room as soon as I realized this wasn’t gonna be the chill party I was hoping for. You think I was just gonna let a bunch of strangers eat all the candy that I specifically bought for myself to eat while watching horror movies? I think the fuck not.”

“Ooh, horror movies?” Harry perks up, still sitting on the spinning desk chair. “Which ones? And what kind of candy? If there’s skittles, I call dibs.”

“I thought I said to get out of my house,” Flash deadpans, narrowing his eyes a bit.

Raising his hand a bit, Harley points out, “Pete and I are leaving in, like, an hour and a half, because curfew and shit, but if y’all want a movie night, I can call Tony and have him bring a bigger car to fit all of us. I mean, he’ll also insist on being there for the movie night, and who knows who else will butt in once they know about it, and, sorry dude—” he smiles sympathetically at Harry, “—but he’ll definitely question you a bit to make sure you’re not there as an Oscorp spy, but, like, it’ll still be fun. And we can leave whenever, it doesn’t have to be in an hour and a half. We could go now. Or later. Whenever.”

There’s barely enough time for Ned to happily nod his agreement before Flash asks, “Tony? Like. Stark?”

“Yeah,” Harley answers, confused. “Who else?”

Flash blinks once, slowly. “You know Tony Stark?”

Harley frowns at him. “I live with Tony Stark. Him and Pep share guardianship of me with my Ma.”

“You…” Flash looks like he’s having a milk heart attack. “You live with…”

“Did you really not know this?” Harley asks, flabbergasted. “Pete and I talk about the dumb shit Tony does all the time during decathlon. We’re, like, always telling everyone weird stories about living there.”

Suddenly, Flash jumps to his feet and cries out, “That’s how you already knew each other?!”

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:56 pm ]

_hey can u come pick us up now_

_and like_

_bring a bigger car_

_please and thank you_

** FROM: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:56 pm ]

_…_

_Why?_

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:57 pm ]

_we decided we want to have a movie night_

_but like_

_all of us_

_like_

_me and harley and ned and mj and harry and also flash_

** FROM: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:57 pm ]

_Flash? Annoying Flash that’s been bullying you for years?_

_Wait, Harry?_

_Harry Osborn?_

_You want to bring an Osborn into my home?_

_Kid, you’re killing me here_

_Explain yourself right this second or I’m telling May to ground you for ten years_

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:58 pm ]

_ok look first of all_

_harry hates his dad more than u do so u can trust him_

_second of all_

_flash stopped bullying me and i think we’re kind of friends now and also he’s still tipsy and we don’t feel like it’s a good idea to leave him here without anyone to make sure he’s safe, so…_

** FROM: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:59 pm ]

_Isn’t it his party, though? He’s leaving his own party?_

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 9:59 pm ]

_mr stark you have left every single party you have ever thrown_

_except for the one where you pissed yourself in your own suit in front of everyone there_

** FROM: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 10:00 pm ]

_You could have just said yes, Pete. Didn’t have to go for the kill shot._

_I’m on my way, but I’m not bringing a bigger car. Osborn’s sit in the trunk._

_So do bullies. They can share._

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 10:01 pm ]

_…so ur bringing a bigger car?_

** FROM: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 10:01 pm ]

_No_

_Maybe_

_Shut up_

_You better all be outside waiting by the time I get there_

_And if either of those two little shits happen to be in the street, it’s not my fault if I hit them_

** TO: ** you are my dad (you’re my dad! boogie woogie woogie!) [ 10:02 pm ]

_thanks, mr stark!! love u too!!! <3 <3 <3_

**Author's Note:**

> LET ME EXPLAIN
> 
> so, there is a one shot that will be getting posted after i finish and post the christmas one shot (maybe sooner, depending on which one i finish first, tbh) that will kind of. basically retell the entire series up to this point from flash's pov and explain a lot about how i'm writing him in this series. if him kissing peter and harley feels out of no where and like it shouldn't be there, that's the point, but it will become a lot more clear when i post the flash one shot! like, even the last line that flash says will be explained in the one shot. i was honestly debating waiting and posting all three one shots (this one, the christmas one, and the flash one) all at once so that no one would have to wait to get that other perspective that clears a lot of things up, but like, i'm not patient enough to wait to post this now that it's done
> 
> also i had an idea for this whole darker themed halloween one shot but i mean the first four fics of this series all have a lot of heavy angsty shit so i decided to keep this one mostly fluffy and funny and then for halloween 2020 i'll post the darker themed one
> 
> i also feel like people aren't gonna like this? just because i know it does most likely feel off and different in comparison to the rest of the series so far but like. a lot of the one shots i have planned for this series are humorous and stuff and this is leading to a lot of stuff i have planned that will be happening in later one shots and the next multi chaptered fic, which i'll start writing after i post the xmas one shot and the flash one shot
> 
> i'm rambling, but yea
> 
> let me know what u think! please! i thrive off of comments!!


End file.
